Netflix surpassed HBO for the first time in subscriber revenue last quarter

Netflix and HBO have a somewhat healthy competition going between each other. While normally looking from the bottom up, Netflix made some major strides in catching up to HBO's popularity last quarter.

After publishing some impressive second quarter numbers recently, Netflix has not only hit 50 million global subscribers now, but for the very first time has surpassed HBO in subscriber revenue. Last quarter HBO brought in $1.141 billion but was edged out by Netflix's $1.146 billion.

Yesterday, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings took to Facebook with some excited yet humbled words. "Minor milestone: last quarter we passed HBO is subscriber revenue ($1.146B vs $1.141B)," the CEO said. "They still kick our ass in profits and Emmy's, but we are making progress. HBO rocks, and we are honored to be in the same league. (yes, I loved Silicon Valley and yes it hit a little close to home.)"

Hastings not only admitted his love for HBO's new tech start-up focused sit-com, Silicon Valley, but is also very aware of the massive revenue gap between the two companies. While Netflix enjoyed about $71 million in profits last quarter, that number is dwarfed by HBO's $584 million take.

Even though HBO has dominated at the Emmys as of late, Netflix has a very strong showing this year with 31 nominations led by House of Cards and Orange is the New Black. Netflix still has some catching up to do, but it is an interesting competition to observe. Both companies have followed suit with each other over the years, first opening streaming services and now with the battle for the hottest original TV series. This year's Emmy Awards should be an interesting show down between the two services.